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Very nice system, Grizz. Makes me think about making a bridge hammock system for myself. Hmmm... .

Thanks for the videos and the inspiration!

Now then there's no reason why a talented DIY aficionado like you couldn't knock one off. Maybe someone has put some instructions up to help...

Originally Posted by Fronkey

To have a sub 3ib hammock set up that is a bridge is amazing. Really cool!

Fronkey

Thanks Fronkey---you can take that as a goal for yours when you have the time to make one. There's no rocket science here. A bridge hammock uses less material in the body, about the same material for the bugnet, and potentially less for an underquilt than a gathered-end hammock. The gotchas are the poles, and webbing used on the sides for suspension. Get rid of the single-use poles and replace the webbing with lightweight but strong cord, and you can just glide on home to a lightweight bridge hammock.

Grizz, you make me want to DIY a Bridge, but how do you find the time??? I have the sewing machine and material, just can't seem to find the time. Where does it all go??? Great hammock and UQ, you always do great work.

The proud recipient eagerly awaits this labor-of-love invention!

Great video, Grizz! I'm feeling quite privileged that this amazing piece of engineering representing tons of hours of your labor and brainpower is now being shipped to my house! i hope to use it before then, but my next multi-day backpacking trip will likely be N. California in August. i've always brought friends from home but how do you hammock people arrange hiking partners? anyway, i'll chime in again after receiving this masterpiece to make everyone a bit more jealous!

That is the fastest 9 minute HF video I have watched. Must be from coming in at 8:56 that maintains the pace. Or a tight script and preparation.
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There are some outstanding features of your setup of the UQ suspension and the exposition that are instructive to gathered-end hammock use.

First, by installing as you do,with the hammock inverted, those several seconds where the suspension corners are being tensioned out to the corners of the hammock show the ideal vectors of tension that is only sloppily being hinted at in many UQ hangs.
Second, the light line on the sides is so thin and no heavier than needed for its task. Grabbed by small hooks to be sure the sides are held fast? No reason why those with channels in their UQ's cannot cut long windows in the gros-grain channels to let small brassiere or mitten hooks-- sewn to the hammock side -- grab the line in the channel. IMO, it should be that fishing line you use. But those who think they need shock cord in the channel can also let that rest on hooks for the night.

Third, the total shock cord for the UQ suspension has been trimmed to a minimum. You know the throw needed, and you can estimate the needed strength by experiment in order to shave the last gram. Very neat. Just like coming in 4 seconds under 9 minutes.

PS: Somewhere in this thread, would you comment on your choice of fabrics for the bed? You haven't chosen the stiffest; and for fleeting seconds of localized stretching, my eyes are uncertain that you are as flat as you claim to be.

You can get one just as soon as someone figures out a way to make these quickly enough to earn a little $$ doing it and keep the price within usual expectations, I haven't.

Originally Posted by BajaHanger

Grizz, you make me want to DIY a Bridge, but how do you find the time??? I have the sewing machine and material, just can't seem to find the time. Where does it all go??? Great hammock and UQ, you always do great work.

Thanks...I found the time by not doing my taxes, yet... high time I kicked into gear on that one. Now where are those shoeboxes of receipts...

Originally Posted by turtlelady

Your always enjoyable videos can be counted on to teach me how to improve something in my systems, even though I will likely never DIY a bridge hammock. Thank you.

Thanks turtlelady, that's great you can glean some take-aways from this. That kind of thing makes the effort in doing the videos definitely worthwhile.

Originally Posted by ekeller

Great video, Grizz! I'm feeling quite privileged that this amazing piece of engineering representing tons of hours of your labor and brainpower is now being shipped to my house! i hope to use it before then, but my next multi-day backpacking trip will likely be N. California in August. i've always brought friends from home but how do you hammock people arrange hiking partners? anyway, i'll chime in again after receiving this masterpiece to make everyone a bit more jealous!

Thanks Evan. You're going to need to get it out a few times on different trees to get the hang of the suspension, so to speak. A bit of fiddling needed to get the tree straps just so, and get your muscle memory trained with adjusting UCRs. I reckon you can handle zippers alright already

Originally Posted by DemostiX

Professor:

That is the fastest 9 minute HF video I have watched. Must be from coming in at 8:56 that maintains the pace. Or a tight script and preparation.
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thanks...not so much a script, at least not a written one, as a clear idea of the sequence of things to show, and practice at delivery to get the dead air squeezed out. Editing to start speech immediately with the beginning of a clip.

PS: Somewhere in this thread, would you comment on your choice of fabrics for the bed? You haven't chosen the stiffest; and for fleeting seconds of localized stretching, my eyes are uncertain that you are as flat as you claim to be.

Covered this a little in the first video. This hammock is for someone who weighs 40 lbs less than me, made of 1.1 oz ripstop. The one I made for myself uses 1.9 oz ripstop, and has less stretch in it. I'd have to use a 1.1 bed for a while and keep a close eye on stitching for holes opening up before weighing in on whether this fabric is safely strong enough in the long term for me.

I actually have not made claims on flatness, or rather, my understanding of flatness is more nuanced than your statement suggests you know. A while back there was a thread that sparked some discussion on it, here. To save the gentle reader from the necessity of going through all of that again, I will summarize my understanding of flatness with two points. One, borrowed from Pan, is that what can be flat is a line through the body mass, where (naturally then) you'll have the heaviest part sink lower in the hammock than the legs. That's hard to get in a gathered end hammock because of the curved line of suspension support that goes right through the center of the hammock body, leading people to support their knees with pillows and the like. The second point is that to actually achieve that straight line means adjusting how far the ends of the hammock are pulled apart. Too little and you get a banana shape. Too much and you can pull up the middle too high to be comfortable, a so-called "inverted banana".

A rather long-winded (would you expect anything less from me?) explanation that your eyes do not deceive, that hammock is bulging from below right there at my gluteus maximus...as it should lest I feel like I'm laying on a floor without any back support.